Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

Wang Xiulan's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't speak and just nodded slightly.

Li Baoguo didn't try to persuade him, but just sighed softly.

The three of them stood at the door for a couple of breaths before Zhao Shanhe changed the subject.

He took out a cigarette, offered one to Li Baoguo, and said in a deep voice, though a little softer than before, "Uncle Li, I've been running around with you these past few days, and I know you've had to put in a lot of trouble."

Li Baoguo took the cigarette and waved his hand, saying, "This is nothing."

"As long as everyone is alright."

Zhao Shanhe lowered his head, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and slowly exhaled the smoke before speaking again: "My aunt has suffered along with me this time."

"In the end, things have been happening one after another lately, and no one has had an easy time."

Wang Xiulan then looked up at him, her voice low: "How are things outside... these past few days?"

Upon hearing this, Li Baoguo instinctively glanced at Zhao Shanhe.

Zhao Shanhe stood by the window, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Things aren't going well."

Neither Wang Xiulan nor Li Baoguo responded; they just stared at him.

Zhao Shanhe didn't mince words and simply recounted the events of the past few days, including the situation at the Red Star Machinery Factory, the chaos at the factory after Liang Jiajun's death, Lao Xu's gunshot wound and hospitalization, and the connection with the Soviet experts. He picked out the key points and spoke in a low voice.

The corridor was quiet.

His voice was the only one, very low, falling one sentence at a time.

The more Wang Xiulan listened, the more her brows furrowed, and in the end, even her face darkened.

Li Baoguo stood to the side, also without saying a word, but the fingers holding the cigarette slowly tightened a little.

After Zhao Shanhe finished speaking, the corridor was quiet for a long while.

Wang Xiulan then said in a low voice, "No wonder you've looked so pale these past few days."

"This isn't just one thing; it's several things piling up at once."

She paused, then asked hesitantly, "What will happen to the factory afterwards?"

"Didn't they say... we needed an expert to keep things under control?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shanhe's expression darkened, and he did not immediately respond.

The atmosphere in the corridor suddenly became even heavier.

Li Baoguo was the first to react, flicking off the ash from his cigarette before quickly taking over the conversation: "Alright, let's not ask about that now."

"The person just came out of there, their mind is still not at ease, and you insist on asking the most stressful question."

Wang Xiulan then realized what she had said, her lips moved, and she looked a little embarrassed: "I just blurted it out."

"Hearing you say it like that made my heart tighten."

Li Baoguo waved his hand, trying to soften the tone: "You should say less."

"He's been dealing with all sorts of problems lately, and you're just adding to his troubles."

Wang Xiulan didn't continue the conversation. She just sighed softly, looked up at Zhao Shanhe, and softened her voice: "Shanhe, I'm not urging you or forcing you."

"I was just thinking that you've been dealing with one thing after another these past few days, it's really overwhelming."

Zhao Shanhe, with a cigarette between his fingers, stood by the window in silence for a couple of breaths before letting out a soft "hmm".

Seeing that his face was still somber, Li Baoguo didn't mention anything about the factory again, but simply patted his arm and said, "Let's go."

"Let's go out for some fresh air."

The three of them slowly walked out along the corridor.

There were many people coming and going in the hospital. The white walls, iron beds, and the smell of medicine all mixed together, making people feel suffocated.

As soon as I reached the building entrance, a gust of cold wind rushed in. Before I could catch my breath, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from the other side of the courtyard.

"Brother Shanhe!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Jianmin rushed over at a jog.

He ran so fast that his forehead was covered in sweat, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was still out of breath when he finally stopped.

Li Baoguo was taken aback at first, then frowned: "Jianmin, what are you doing here?"

"Weren't you looking after Lao Xu at the hospital?"

Jianmin opened his mouth, his chest heaving, his Adam's apple bobbing twice, before he managed to squeeze out a hoarse sentence: "Brother Shanhe..."

Jianmin was out of breath, his eyes were red, and his voice was hoarse, almost squeezed out of his throat: "Old Xu's arm... might not be salvageable."

Zhao Shanhe's face darkened immediately.

He strode forward, grabbed Jianmin's arm, and said in a tight voice, "Explain yourself."

Jianmin took two deep breaths, his chest heaving, before continuing, "The doctor just came out and said the bullet went in too deep, the wound is badly festering, and I've lost too much blood..."

"The person is saved for now, but what about that arm—"

As he said this, his throat seemed to be blocked by something, and his eyes reddened even more. After a couple of breaths, he finally managed to say in a hoarse voice, "I'm afraid... I'll have to have my leg amputated."

The courtyard gate fell silent.

The wind passed through the group of people, making their faces feel cold.

Wang Xiulan's face turned pale instantly, and Li Baoguo's hand holding the cigarette froze in mid-air.

Zhao Shanhe stood there, and the gloom that had been suppressed on his face suddenly resurfaced.

He didn't speak immediately, but stared at Jianmin, his gaze gradually darkening: "Did the doctor say that himself?"

Jianmin nodded, his voice trembling: "Yes."

"I just said it at the door of the ward."

"Dazhuang is still guarding over there. As soon as I heard that, I rushed out to find you."

Zhao Shanhe was silent for a moment, then suddenly stubbed out his cigarette in the snow water by the wall next to him, his voice low and deep: "Take me there."

The beat-up jeep parked in front of the county hospital was still running. The driver was squatting by the car, smoking, his neck hunched over. When he saw that the people looked uneasy, he didn't dare to say anything, quickly threw away his cigarette, and opened the car door.

As soon as the car started, it sped towards the city along the dirt road full of ice shards.

No one spoke much along the way.

Jianmin sat in the front, his hands gripping his knees so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Li Baoguo and Wang Xiulan also got on the bus. The bus was very crowded, but no one cared about that.

Zhao Shanhe sat in the back, leaning against the car door, and didn't say a word the whole way.

The shadows of trees and the snow outside the car window rushed past, and the engine roared so loudly that it made one's bones go numb.

Jianmin added in a hoarse voice, "The doctor just called Dazhuang and me over."

"He didn't say anything definitive, but the implication is... it's pretty much over."

Zhao Shanhe remained silent. He simply reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette case, took one out and put it in his mouth, but didn't light it for a long time.

By the time the car pulled into the city hospital courtyard, the cigarette he was holding was already crumpled from biting it so much.

As soon as the group got out of the car, they saw several figures gathered near the hospital building.

Zhuang Zheng stood guard at the door of the ward, his back as taut as a stone.

Just then, the ward door creaked open.